So I just got back from a goodbye dinner for one of the elders. Charlie has been the elder overseeing the youth ministry and will be moving back to the US in a month. This is a common scenario when living in Shanghai. Because the church is international, everyone has a home elsewhere. True, some people were born in China, and have emigrated to another country in the past before returning, but many people here were born elsewhere, and consider that there home. It seems like there are a lot of people leaving this year, but that may just be my imagination. I’m beginning to realize that this may not get better or be any easier the longer I am here. Working with the youth, many graduate every year. The more I know people, the more it will hurt.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Those who love much, grieve much. But each person that we love, that touch our lives, has a special place in our heart that no one else can fill. And we are so much the better, so much richer, for all the people we love and the people we meet.